Rarely can such a comfortable derby win have presented Sir Alex Ferguson with so many issues to address.
No-one likes to have a domestic in front of the neighbours, but Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo combined to leave a cloud hanging over Manchester United in front of their local rivals.
While Tevez made clear his feelings over United’s refusal to hand him a permanent deal, cupping his hands to his ears in front of the directors’ box after scoring, Ronaldo’s petulance stole the show.
Ronaldo has proved himself the master of histrionics and hissy fits, but his reaction to being substituted with half an hour left was extraordinary even by the United star’s high standards of melodrama.
Snatching at a tracksuit top, shaking his head in dismay and mouthing his displeasure whenever the TV cameras were on him, Ronaldo left no-one in any doubt of his anger at being replaced.
Publicly, Fergie paid lip service to Ronaldo’s reaction, claiming it was good to see players frustrated at being taken off.
Privately, however, you can be sure Ronaldo received the full hairdryer treatment from his boss in the dressing-room afterwards.
No-one at United gets away with such a show of public dissent towards Fergie and, while Ronaldo has been back to his majestic best in recent weeks, he is not above censure.
Yet while Ronaldo’s show of immaturity can be dealt with by a private rebuke, the United boss faces a tougher task in dealing with the enduring problem of Tevez and his future.
Ahead of the game Tevez spoke of his fear that he will not be at United next season because of the club’s reluctance to keep him and Fergie’s preference for Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov.
But the belligerent Argentina international could not have provided a more emphatic display of his desire to remain at Old Trafford, with a remorseless man-of-the-match performance which could have seen him score a hat-trick. When he netted with a curling 20-yard shot a minute before the break, to add to Ronaldo’s 18th-minute free-kick opener, there was only one thing on Tevez’s mind in terms of his celebration.
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Waving team-mates away, Tevez made for the area in front of the directors’ box – where United chief executive David Gill was sat – and cupped his hands to his ears in a defiant statement of intent.
The message to Gill and the Old Trafford board was clear – what more do I have to do to earn a permanent deal? – and United’s jubilant fans added their own support to the player who has become their cult hero.
Tevez played like a man possessed, and while United might baulk at the £32million asking price from his representative, Kia Joorabchian, when he is in this kind of form such an amount would seem to be a no-brainer.
And when you look at the non-performance of City’s record signing Robinho, another £32m player, then Tevez would seem a snip at the same price. City may have done the double over United last season but too many of their key players failed to show up here.
Mark Hughes and his players questioned the decision to award a free-kick for a foul by Stephen Ireland on Berbatov, from which Ronaldo opened the scoring with a trademark 25-yard strike, but that was pure smokescreen.
City, aiming to emulate United’s success following their Arab takeover, never looked like getting anything.
United are just four points from a third consecutive title and an 18th in all, to equal Liverpool’s domestic record.
If all goes according to plan on Wednesday and they win at Wigan, a point against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday will clinch the title.
Surely then the United family will have patched up its differences and there will be no more sulking or public shows of dissent.
Man City: Given 6, Richards 5, Onuoha 5, Dunne 5, Bridge 5, De Jong 5 (Petrov 73, 5), Kompany 6, Elano 5, Ireland 5, Robinho 4 (Evans 89), Caicedo 4 (Bojinov 63, 4).
Referee: Chris Foy
Attemdamce: 60,075
( Mirror )
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